  Article 1.—All persons having contracted responsibilities up to date on account of the present rebellion who fail to report themselves to the authorities or military commanders before the 10th of July will be pursued and treated as guilty. Article 2.—Commanding generals in the field, military and civil governors in districts where the rebels exist, will prohibit all inhabitants from leaving the villages and towns, unless under absolute necessity for agricultural purposes, or taking care of rural properties or other works. Those comprised in the latter class will be provided by the municipal captains with a special pass, in which will be noted the period of absence, the place to be visited, and the road to be taken, always provided that all persons absenting themselves from the villages without carrying such passes, and all who, having them, deviate from the time, road, or place indicated, will be treated as rebels. Article 3.—After the 10th instant all persons will be required to prove their identity by the personal document (cÉdula personal), together with the pass above-mentioned, and neither the amnesty passes already granted nor any other document will have any legal validity. All who contravene these orders will be tried by court-martial. Fernando Primo de Rivera. The indiscreetness of this measure was soon evident. It irritated the well-disposed inhabitants, from whom fees were exacted by the Gov.-General's venal subordinates; the rigorous application of the edict drove many to the enemy's camp, and the rebels responded to this document by issuing the following Exhortation in TagÁlog dialect, bearing the pseudonym of “Malabar.” It was extensively circulated in July, 1897, but bears no date. The Spanish authorities made strenuous but unsuccessful efforts to confiscate it. It is an interesting document because (1) It admits how little territory the Katipunan itself considered under its dominion. (2) It sets forth the sum total of the rebels' demands at that period. (3) It admits their impotence to vanquish the loyal forces in open battle. |
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